This experiment was conducted to
determine the effect of grain content on the
nutritive value of corn silage. Whole-plant
silage dry matter (DM) increased, whereas
neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid
detergent fiber (ADF) contents decreased as
the level of grain increased from 0 to 65% in
the reconstituted, whole-plant, corn silages.
Using sheep as a model, voluntary DM intake
and DM and organic matter (OM) digestibility
increased, but crude protein (CP) and
ADF digestibilities decreased linearly as grain
content increased from 0 to 52.5%. Our results
indicate that the optimum level of grain
in whole-plant corn silage to maximize the
nutritive value of a high silage-based ration
was about 52.5%.

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Kansas State University. Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service